ONTARIO — Some coaches might cringe at the idea of one of his players knocking another down at the end of a play during a meaningless intrasquad scrimmage game.

But seeing Alec Martinez clearing Drew Doughty from the crease area late in Sunday’s Kings vs. Kings event at Citizens Business Bank Arena was just fine with Kings coach John Stevens.

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“It’s good, there’s contact coming,” Stevens said. “Guys need to get bounced around. We introduced it in practice a little bit. That’s why these situations are good for everyone. Summer hockey, and you get into a practice situation and there’s contact. And you get into scrimmage situations, the compete level goes up a little bit and I think it’s good to get the players ready for the start of the regular season.”

Matt Roy #81 tries to keep contrrol of the puck from #23 Dustin Brown, as the L.A. Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

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Oscar Fantenberg tries to clear the puck from the goal, as the LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

Drew Doughty #8 , as the L.A. Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

Tyler Toffoli #73 tries to get the puck from behind the goal, as the LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

#51 Austin Wagner and #57 Jacob Moverare battle for control of the puck, as the LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

#51 Austin Wagner and #57 Jacob Moverare battle for control of the puck, as the LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

Daniel Brickley #78 takes a shot during a short 3vs3 game as the LA Kings play in an exhibition game, Kings vs Kings, at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, on Sunday, September 16, 2018. (Photo by Frank Perez, Contributing Photographer)

That was a big part of Sunday’s event, which was played with two 20-minute periods at five-on-five, with five minutes of three-on-three after each period. It ended with a five-man shootout between the two teams. While Team Blake ended up winning 5-4 thanks to a shootout goal by Ilya Kovalchuk, Sunday was about getting ready for the regular season in a game situation.

“There’s still lots of parts of our game that we cover, system stuff that we wanted to see worked on in practice,” Stevens said of Sunday’s game. “We worked on our neutral zone and O-zone in terms of forecheck.

“We actually thought this was positioned well. We got in here and guys got into a scrimmage situation. We’ve got games coming this week and most of the guys will get a chance to play. This isn’t the level you’ll see in a preseason game, but it’s a step up from what we’re doing in practice.”

It was also a chance for some of the players looking to make the team to make an impression. One of those was professional tryout player Emerson Etem. The Long Beach native scored three goals Sunday.

“My goal coming into this game was to make something happen on each shift,” Etem said. “Whether that be draw a penalty or just make a positive play each and every shift, and if it resulted in a goal, that’s great. Just make sure that our line was making something happen out there, and I thought we did a good job. Still some things to work on, but like I said, nothing changes for me. It’s one day, I’m on a PTO and I’ve just got to build up.”

Etem has bounced around the last couple of years, ending the 2017-18 season playing in Switzerland after leaving the Tucson Roadrunners of the American Hockey League. Originally drafted in the first round by the Ducks in 2010, he has played parts of five seasons in the NHL, when a knee injury suffered in 2016 while playing for the San Diego Gulls sidetracked his career.

He said that he is coming in to camp with the Kings this year feeling healthy again, after a 2017-18 season in which he only played 22 games between the AHL and Swiss league.

“I mentioned at the start of camp that this is the best I’ve felt in a long time,” Etem said. “ I think that in itself helps me have a real good mindset. It’s been a frustrating couple of years. And just to get that feeling of being healthy again is just a plus on what I need to do to succeed out here.”

Stevens was impressed with the sample size – despite playing on the opposing team Sunday – and was what he expected out of someone trying to make the NHL.

“He made a great representation of a guy trying to make a team,” Stevens said. “He’s got great speed, scored three goals and looked good doing it. I think that’s what you want. You want guys to come in and make an impression. That’s what he did today.”

NEW WEAPON

Kovalchuk also assisted on a goal by Anze Kopitar on Sunday, as Kopitar tipped a Kovalchuk one-timer past Peter Budaj.

But it was the shootout goal, where he cut left and got Budaj down before lifting the puck into the roof of the net that had the crowd buzzing.

“It’s nice to see him score in those situations,” Stevens said. “I know he was really good the last time he was over here. I talked to Pete DeBoer, he said it was a situation he really thrived in. We were anxious to see him. Any time you have success in that situation, it probably good for his confidence too. But I think he’s always been good in that situation, so it was good to see.”

ALL-STAR COMING WEST

At halftime of the game, it was announced that Ontario would host the 2020 AHL All-Star Game at Citizens Business Bank Arena. It will be the second time that the Reign organization has hosted an All-Star game, with Ontario hosting the ECHL game in 2010.

AHL President David Andrews, on hand for the announcement, praised the job the Reign have done in growing the AHL in Southern California.

“The business has been really good, particularly in Southern California,” Andrews said. “San Diego’s success and Ontario’s success has led the way. They’ve been the top three or four teams in attendance the last three years. And now are the sort of franchises we use as examples for other teams in terms of best practices and how teams need to be structured. It’s been a big-plus for us.”